SPENCERVILLE – In the municipal politics of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal, the ED-19 landfill is never far below the surface.

An all-candidates meeting on Thursday put the proposed landfill, which would be located near the village, at the centre of the debate.

With one notable exception, all of the mayoral, deputy mayoral and Ward 3 candidates declared themselves opposed to the United Counties’ proposed sale of the site to a private owner.

Mayoral candidate Phil Parent, co-owner of the KOA campground, which is close to ED-19, devoted his opening remarks to his opposition to ED-19.

Parent vowed to “stop this craziness,” saying the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville is using taxpayers’ money to oppose the wishes of the residents of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal.

As mayor, he said he would be willing to have the township buy the ED-19 site from the counties, using the township’s reserves if necessary, to stop the development of the landfill.

He said the United Counties couldn’t be trusted to operate a landfill responsibly even if it didn’t sell the land to a private owner.

Pat Sayeau, who is seeking a second term as mayor, acknowledged he is a convert to the anti-dump position after hearing “the voice of the people.”

He vowed to continue to fight the sale of ED-19 or its environmental approval certificate at the counties council table, declaring that his township is “an unwilling host” of the landfill.

While he has only one vote of 10 on counties council, Sayeau promised to use his experience of 23 years on municipal councils to “put this matter to bed” during the next four years.

Mayoral candidate David Dobbie, former mayor of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal and ex-reeve of Edwardsburgh, said he is opposed to a “mega-dump.”

When the landfill was approved 20 years ago, it was meant as a future dump for garbage from Leeds-Grenville alone, said Dobbie, who was reeve when it was approved – as Sayeau was fond of pointing out during the debate.

Dobbie said residents at the time feared that ED-19 eventually would take garbage from Ottawa and elsewhere, but the township was assured that the landfill would be solely for counties’ waste.

Tomlinson, the private company interested in buying ED-19 “was never on the radar” 20 years ago, said Dobbie, who added that talk of the sale of ED-19 happened on Sayeau’s watch.

Peggy Taylor, the current deputy mayor who is running for the Ward 3 council seat, was alone among the candidates in not opposing the landfill.

“I’m not afraid of it,” Taylor told the audience of about 80 residents. “Nobody wants to see one come, but if it comes it’s a counties’ decision, it’s not a township decision,” she said.

Taylor added that the landfill should meet all environmental, engineering and monitoring regulations before it could be opened.

Council candidate John Piper said he is dead-set against opening the landfill, even if it remains in the hands of Leeds and Grenville.

“I think we should just rezone the damn thing and turn it into parkland or something,” he said.

Stefan Kohut, running for the Ward 3 seat, said it is wrong for the landfill to be opened based on a 20-year-old environment approval certificate. He urged residents to attend the Environmental Review

Tribunal hearings in November; the tribunal is reviewing the certificate of approval.

John Hunter, also running for the Ward 3 seat, said ED-19 should remain in the possession of the counties and not be sold.

The counties don’t need ED-19 for their own garbage because of long-term, low-cost contracts to ship garbage to the Lafleche landfill at Moose Creek, south of Ottawa, he said.

Dwane Crawford, candidate for deputy mayor, said he is opposed to the sale of the landfill site and to any proposal to truck in garbage from elsewhere.

Crawford said he is against burying garbage and that the counties should look at ways of diverting waste from landfills instead.

Tory Deschamps, also running for deputy mayor, said he opposes the sale and he sees no need to open ED-19.

Edwardsburgh/Cardinal has a good contract with Lafleche, and it would cost the township twice as much to bury garbage in its backyard than it does to truck it to Moose Creek, he said.

“There just isn’t a business case for a counties-owned landfill,” Deschamps said.